Librarian.Writer.Dreamer

Menu

Tag Archives: cooking

I know it’s unusual to see a review on this site that isn’t book-related, but a few months ago, I posted Subscription Showdown: Blue Apron vs. HomeChef, a comparison of two meal subscription services I have tried. That post has quickly become one of the most popular posts here on Among the Authors, and I’ve heard a lot of great feedback from those who gave the services a try thanks to the review. The short version is this: I subscribed to Blue Apron for six months, until I made the switch to HomeChef and never looked back! We’ve now been subscribing to HomeChef for six months, and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon. Since we’ve hit our six month home-chef-iversary, I thought it might be time for an update so that anyone still on the fence about meal subscriptions could see why once you try it, you won’t want to give it up.

So what is HomeChef?HomeChef is meal delivery subscription service. That means, each week we receive a refrigerated box packed full of fresh ingredients to make the meals we’ve preselected. There are about 12 options each week that always include a variety of meats, at least three vegetarian options, a breakfast, some smoothies, and a fruit assortment.

What does it cost?
Meals are typically $9.95 a serving (although sometimes you can select a premium option which is a bigger meal, but also costs more), and shipping is free over $50. We typically order three meals for two people each week. Sometimes, we even select an extra meal just because the options are so great we can’t pick just three. So… Two People + 3 Meals = $60 a week. The value is even greater when I consider just how little I go to the grocery store anymore, other than for essentials. Not going to the grocery store as much means I’m less likely to impulse buy, so no more of that “I spent $200 and barely bought anything” feeling after leaving the store.
Want to make it an even better deal? If you use this link, you get $30 OFF your first week of HomeChef!(A green banner will pop up in the window after you’ve first clicked the link, and it just says that your $30 discount will be applied at checkout)
So if you’re buying for two and select three meals, that takes your first week down to $30 (shipping is still FREE). Can the two of you dine out three times in a week for under $30? Not likely.$30 OFF your first week of HomeChef!

What’s the food like?Ridiculously good. Seriously. I think we’ve only skipped one week of service the entire six months (only because we were on vacation), so out of ALL of those meals, we’ve never had a meal we totally disliked. The ingredients come super fresh, the recipes are simple, and we look forward to new menus being released so much that we always have our dinners planned out a month in advance! No joke. We really like the fact that, while there are a lot of great ‘safe’ choices (steak and potatoes, fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, etc.), there are also so many adventurous choices that have led us to try new things and discover foods that we never knew we liked (I just had a chayote for the first time!).

Here are a few photos of some HomeChef meals we’ve made. If you asked me to select a favorite, I don’t think I could. Pictured:
– Patio BBQ Steak Sandwich on buttery hoagie with charred onion, cheddar, and grilled corn
– Backyard Seafood Boil with lobster, shrimp, and spicy sausage (Premium meal)

Are the recipes actually simple?Even if you’ve somehow lived your life without ever operating a stove, I’m pretty sure you could cook a HomeChef meal. When you place your first order, HomeChef also includes a free recipe binder so that you can preserve the recipe cards they send with your meals. These cards explain everything! What kind of pans you’re going to need to use, how to prepare the ingredients, and even down to how long it should take you to make a meal. I don’t believe we’ve ever had a meal that took over an hour to prepare.

It’s also nice to have the recipe cards on hand if there’s an especially good meal that you’d want to try to make again on your own. Caution though – it always costs me more when I try to recreate a meal myself, mostly due to the fact that when you get the ingredients through HomeChef, they are already portioned out rather than having to buy a bulk amount at the grocery store just to get the amount you need. I’m also bad about waste because then that leftover bulk amount sits in my fridge forever because I’ve forgotten to use it. That’s why HomeChef’s pre-portioned ingredients are such a money saver – I get exactly what I need without spending big $ and without wasting anything.

Recipes are broken down into no more than six steps that include photos. It also includes reminders if an ingredient is going to be used more than once in a recipe so that you don’t use it all at once. The only additional ingredients that you need to have on hand that Home Chef doesn’t include are olive oil, salt, pepper, and occasionally some water. If you cook at all, you probably already have those items in your kitchen.

Final thoughts?
I’m sure there are a lot of great meal delivery services out there, and I always intended to try several. We’ve just had such great experiences with HomeChef, though, that I don’t really want to give it up, even for just one week. So, we’ll be sticking with HomeChef! The meals are delicious, you can’t beat the price, AND it increases my love of cooking! I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but HomeChef has really opened me up to different techniques and different ingredients that I otherwise wouldn’t have ever tried.

It’s a little strange, isn’t it, seeing a post on this blog that has nothing to do with either books or writing? True, this post won’t fit with the general theme of this blog, but it does have to do with another passion of mine – food! I’ve noticed lately that the most visited post on this site is Uppercase vs. OwlCrate – A Review, where I reviewed two young adult book subscription boxes. While receiving those fabulous bookish goodie boxes was an awesome experience, I was actually inspired to try those because of another subscription we regularly receive – meal deliveries. You see them advertised all of the time – Plated, Hello Fresh, HomeChef, Blue Apron, Freshology, etc. But are they worth it? My short answer – absolutely. Long answer – We spent six months receiving Blue Apron boxes each week, and we only recently made the switch to try out HomeChef. Keep reading for a detailed review of the strengths and weaknesses for those two services, and see why meal subscription boxes are the best thing ever, at least in this house.Continue reading Subscription Showdown: Blue Apron vs. HomeChef→